Forever Closer
by TsukiLove
Summary: Sequel to 'Closer' Co-written with Crys ^.^ Need to read 'Closer' before this*smiles happily*. Endymion still can't find his mystery girl. After breaking his engagement to the Lady Beryl, he finds his parents have betrothed him to the princess of the Moon
1. Chapter 01

**FOREVER CLOSER**

By Tsuki1 and Crys

PG-13

**Chapter 1**

Tsuki1: Ok ok...*takes in deep breath* ill write a sequel

Crys: *whoops*

Tsuki1: but YOU have to edit *evil grin*...and Co-Author with me *insert evil cackle*

Crys: *slumps* you suck

Tsuki1: Don't get me started

Crys:  *snickers*  On what EXACTLY you suck or...

Tsuki1: *whaps* gutter brain : Þ

**ANs****: **That's right folks! Your eyes are not deceiving you! This is a sequel!! Mwahahaha!

I have convinced my dear friend, Crys, to be Co Author! Seeing as she very rightly said

 herself, some of these sentences in here are *so* not me...still not sure whether to take that

 as a compliment or not... 

Anyhoo- Thanks to everyone who reviewed/emailed. I have to say that the death threats I

received were just marvellous *sniffles* I was so touched! Also thanks to Ely-chan for

 looking this over^.^ Of course, I couldn't continue without thanking Jen without whom

 this fic would not be as fantabulous as it is *grin* well, I hope you all enjoy!

 ~Tsuki1~

**Disclaimer**:

Tsuki: We don't own Sailor Moon...so ner *hmphs*

Crys: *mumbles*  So mature...

Tsuki1: : - Þ

~*~

"Serenity!? Serenity where are you!?" A woman with long dark hair sighed, brushing stray

 bangs from her eyes, revealing a golden moon symbol on her forehead. "Where is that

 girl?" she sighed in exasperation.

~*~

 Indeed, Serenity was nowhere within earshot of the searching guardian. The lone princess

 lay on a stone bench, her feet bare. A light wind blew carelessly around her as she stared

 longingly up at the earth, then closed her eyes sighing dreamily. She found herself

 daydreaming of being in her beloved Endymion's arms again, with his lips brushing

 against her skin like a feather. A small smile graced her lips as a gentle wind swept over

 the Moon Palace's garden, sending the sweet smell of fresh flowers over its Princess.

 "He always smelled of flowers," she murmured to herself, drifting back into her dream

 world. But alas, it was not meant to be.

"Daydreaming yet *again* are we Serenity?" the friendly and teasing voice of her

 Venusian friend and guard enquired. The princess's eyes shot open and she sat bolt

 upright.

"Minako! Don't sneak up on me like that!" she gasped, bringing a hand to rest over her

 heart as her friend let out a small giggle.

 "I'm sorry to bring your thoughts back to the Moon, Princess, but it's a matter of some

 urgency."

  Serenity frowned. "What is it?"

Minako tried to not show amusement at her Princess and dear friend's present lack of

 orientation...really she did. However, the effort of impassivity was too awesome, as a

 quirky grin split her face.  "You're late."

"For what...oh no!"  Realisation dawned on the princess's face. "No, no, no!" she buried

 her head in her hands and groaned.

"Luna's been searching for you like a madwoman."  Minako couldn't hold her giggles in

 any longer.

"Minako! This isn't funny!" exclaimed Serenity, gathering her skirts and slipping on the

 shoes she had earlier thrown casually aside. The Venusian princess continued to giggle

 incessantly to which the Moon princess merely rolled her eyes.  "I'll get you back later,"

 she promised before running towards the palace.

~*~

"So that's why you need to be engaged to the Earth Prince."  The Queen finished looking

 intently at her daughter.

  Serenity could only gape.

"Darling...are you ok?"

"Engaged?" she croaked. She was just back from sneaking down to the planet to proclaim

 her love to the Prince of Earth...and now they were already engaged!?

"I'm so sorry sweetheart." Her mother thought her to be devastated but shock overtook her

 when her daughter beamed a most radiant smile.

"Engaged!!"  Serenity sang happily while embracing her confused mother.

~*~

"For TRADE?!  We've only known this kingdom has existed for three years, and I'm

 BETROTHED to their precious little princess?" the prince's cynicism was more than

 palpable.

"Endymion dear, calm down!" The Queen of Earth tried to soothe her son.

"My dear boy," the king began, roughly thumping his son on the back, "this is perfect for

 our trade; not only that, it will also strengthen us as a kingdom in general. No one would

 dare come up against us with the power of the Moon Kingdom on our side!"

"But Father, I didn't renounce my engagement to Beryl just so that you could go and

 betroth me – and without my approval might I add – to some brat Princess from a distant,

 practically unknown kingdom!" Endymion fought to control his snapping temper.

   His mother sighed and shook her head as her son's frustrated voice echoed in the

 cavernous room.

"I'm just so happy that you didn't go through with your marriage to Lady Beryl. Your

 father and I didn't want to tell you this because we didn't want to upset you, but...she has

 the most awful reputation of being a tramp!" 

 Endymion gaped at his shamelessly gossiping mother while his father nodded in

 agreement. "The most distasteful of women - only goes after men with power."

  Endymion couldn't do anything but stare blankly as his parents continued. To think that

 he had been the one trying to keep her reputation from *them*!

 He rubbed his aching temples. "I have to go, excuse me."  He politely walked out the room

 leaving his gossiping parents to themselves.

"The poor dear, this must have shocked him to the bone."  The Queen looked after her son

 with sympathy and a hint of worry.

"That's the pain of finding your first love was a tramp, the poor boy."  The King sadly

 agreed with his wife.

~*~

"So?? When does he arrive?" the Princess of Venus energetically gushed.

"I hope your mother doesn't find out that you were really on Earth instead of staying with

 me."  Princess Ami of Mercury uttered nervously, brushing a tinted blue bang from her

 worried eyes.  A graceful hand situated itself gently on the Princess of Mercury's shoulder.

"Don't worry Ami, besides, if she *does* find out; it's Serenity's fault! Fancy running

 down to Earth like some love sick idiot-all for some 'Prince' who you don't even know!" a

 raven haired beauty sniffed disdainfully.

"I didn't see you disagreeing at the time Rei," a wicked smile graced the features of the

 brunette princess of Jupiter as she spoke.

  The princess of Mars blushed. "In fact, I remember quite well how you felt when you first

 saw Lord Jadeite."  Rei blushed even harder and the other girls giggled at her expression.

"Thank you for that Makoto."  Her hard countenance didn't hold for long against the fit of

 giggles rapidly bubbling in her throat.  Putting an arm around Princess Serenity, Rei

 showed an emotion rarely seen by anyone but her closest friends-love and compassion. 

 "Serenity, if he doesn't accept you for who you are and marry you straight off..." she

 paused, thinking for a moment, "then I'll blow his head off with my fire."  She nodded

 decisively at her idea as if it were perfectly normal to threaten decapitation by fire.

Serenity engulfed her in a hug, a wobbly smile on her flawless face. "Thank you Rei," she

 whispered quietly to her dearest friend. All the girls were teary but it was Minako of

 Venus who broke the silence with a clap of her hands.

"Okay girls, enough of this sentimental mush." The girls looked at her, aghast. "What!? 

 We need to decide what to wear!"

  ~*~

Endymion absently stared at the gardens surrounding the tree where he was situated. "How

 did I get myself into this mess?" he asked himself.

"Obviously by being born a Prince," a voice answered.  Endymion leaned over to look at

 the silver head of his personal guard and friend.

"That particular question was rhetorical Kunzite," he deadpanned.

"He must have missed that memo," another voice announced as a blonde haired man

 appeared from the garden's entrance.  His eyes danced with suppressed mirth, as a

 mischievous smile permanently etched itself on his lips.  Kunzite tried to keep a

serious look on his own face, but found him-self chuckling anyway.

"Well why don't we just have a nice little party and have everyone torment me?"

 Endymion ground out, eyes rolling despairingly to the heavens.

 The blonde haired man climbed up and sat on the same branch as his Prince. "Can we?

 That would be positively splendid."  He smiled and the Prince couldn't help but smile

 back.

"Since when did my permission ever stop you from doing anything Jadeite?"

"Good point Your Highness," he grinned.

"What's this about a party and why wasn't I invited?"

 Approaching footsteps announced the arrival of the last two of Endymion's private guard.

 Long chestnut hair bound at the back flowed from the head of a smiling Zoisite while

 loose waves of brown hair framed Nephrite's thoughtful gaze.

"Zoisite, Nephrite!  Good of you to join us!"

 "Always a pleasure Kunzite," Zoisite mock saluted his captain as Nephrite negligently

 leaned against the tree trunk.

"You're smiling Endymion, something which has been absent for a while," he did not look

 at the Prince, but instead directed his gaze to the setting sun. Endymion nodded slightly.

"I haven't really had much to smile about lately.  I think no man would have much reason

 to after being betrothed to someone you've never even seen, let alone met." He twiddled

 with a stray leaf before watching it flutter to the ground.

"I don't think any man could smile about being married to Beryl either." Jadeite grimaced

 while Zoisite nodded in agreement.

 "At least I had the choice then...and I'd at least met her-knew of her." He let out an

  aggravated sigh. "How can this not be a disaster?"

"The stars indicate the opposite your Highness," Nephrite held everyone's attention. "They

 say that something more powerful than you or I can stop is about to happen."

"What could that possibly be, Madam Nephrite?" Jadeite quipped. Nephrite ignored him

 and instead turned to face his Prince. He stated it simply yet seriousness could be seen in

 the depths of his green eyes.

"A soul bond."

~*~

Love? Hate? Death Threats? Please send to :

 Siggy_Johnston@optusnet.com.au

 Crystalshards01@aol.com 

Thank you and have a nice day ^.^


	2. Chapter 02

**FOREVER CLOSER**

By Tsuki1 and Crys

Pg-13

Chapter 2

**AN's** These things were in no way my idea, though apparently they're expected or something...The

plot for this chapter is all from Tsuki though she made me write it. So the basis is mine, but she was

able to nicely mesh her style into it.

Thanks to Ely for looking at this and showing us what words were wrong and thank you to Drae who

helped me come up with better suited ones.

Crys

**Disclaimer:**

Tsuki1: We don't own any of Sailor Moon...apart from Mamoru whose mine _**Crys shakes her head**_ What...? _**Crys whispers in here ear**_ Nooooo! _**falls into pit of wails**_

Crys: _**still shaking head at delusional co-author**_ ANYWAYwithout further ado, we present to you Forever Closer, Chapter 2...

Tsuki1: _**wails**_ but I want a Mamo-chaaaaan

Crys: _**puts on ear muffs**_

'...' denotes thought.

* * *

Serenity sighed as she stared up, yet again, at the Earth from her bedroom window. It had been almost

4 years since Pluto had told her about Endymion and Earth and how they were all connected. As she

closed her eyes, her mind went back to the day she had entered the forbidden room...

_  
Flash back_

In a portion of the Moon palace, forbidden to wandering, 15 year old Princess Serenity did just that.

"Minako will never find me here" she whispered to herself with a mischievous smile.

Huffing from running, she stopped as she spotted the arched double doors at the end of the hall. '_The_

_Orbital Room_' she thought to herself, finding herself suddenly very nervous. One of the large Golden

doors stood open a crack and Serenity found herself being drawn to them. As she reached them she

looked around furtively, knowing that she was not to be there.

"What can it hurt? I'm the future Queen-I need to know these things" she nodded to convince herself

that she was right.

As she pushed the door open a bit more, it creaked slightly, causing her to jump and take another look

around. Finding nothing, she continued. She tiptoed inside and a huge screen acting as a wall captured

her attention.

While she watched, the screen blipped from a view of a blue planet to an image of a young man. He

was standing in a clearing with two companions, knocking an arrow to his bow. She watched as he

leaned over to one side, presumably listening to the man on his left. He had to hunch a bit as he was

taller than the speaker.

Serenity's mouth gaped as he suddenly looked up, knowing he was being watched. Captivated by the

sapphire eyes that dominated his face, she watched as his black hair moved with the wind.

She walked towards the screen raising her hand to touch the image. Within inches of contact, a voice

spoke up startling the princess.

"Princess, just what do you think you are doing here?"

Slowly turning around, Serenity found herself face to face with the ageless countenance of Pluto. Her

features were set in a hard mask, her eyes flat and hard.

"Pluto! I, well no one else is here, and I was well...I needed a good hiding place...not that I was going

to use here...I" she stopped her babbling, blushing slightly.

"I doubt your friends meant for you to use this as your personal hiding space, Princess."

Serenity bowed her head as she listened to the admonition. "I'm sorry Pluto. I, I should go now."

With only a glimpse to the screen behind her she started towards the doors.

Pluto's eyes softened and she raised an eyebrow as her young princess started to trudge out of the

room. "You do not wish to know who he is, Serenity?"

The girl in question raised her head as she turned to once again face Pluto.

"You would tell me? You can tell me?" Blindingly hopeful blue eyes stared into the amber of

Pluto's.

"For better or worse, you are here in this room. And though you have seen something you were not

meant to, I do not anticipate any harm coming from this bit of knowledge."

Inexplicably, Serenity's gaze was drawn back to the screen where the young man was then shooting

arrows at a round target.

"Please Pluto, tell me who he is."

"He is Endymion, the Prince of Earth."

"Earth? The planet we protect?"

"Indeed, and soon you will find them to be much more. The prince more so than anyone else."

Serenity's stare didn't waver as Pluto spoke.

"Is he the reason I've been forbidden from this room? How come I know nothing about him, and yet

feel so completely connected to him?" at this she looked at Pluto.

"I can confirm nor deny the reason you are not allowed to wander here. That is something your mother

will have to tell you. As to your feeling connected to Prince Endymion of Earth, the reason for

that is a soul-bond."

Pluto took in the princess's shocked expression and gently smiled. "I do believe your mother is

looking for you Serenity. I will not tell her of this…" here her expression hardened "…breach of

trust."

"However, if I find you in here again without explicit permission, I will not hesitate to inform the

Queen." she watched as Serenity's head bowed meekly.

"That is if I find you in here... Serenity." Pluto felt an overwhelming need to add a devious wink to

that statement but managed to withhold herself.

Serenity's head shot up at the underlying hint in the older woman's statement. Her eyes glistened

happily as she spoke.

"Then I shall be more careful next time." Serenity tapped her own nose lightly. She turned to exit, only

to find they had company. Minako, Rei, Ami and Makoto all were staring at the screen.

Trying to figure out what shocked them into silence, Serenity turned back to the screen. It had blipped

from her prince to four young men talking animatedly with him.

Each of her four friends had a distinctively dreamy look on their young faces - including the eternally

pessimistic Rei - which made Serenity want to burst into a fit of giggles. The thought of Pluto

witnessing such unladylike behaviour helped the princess contain herself. One by one each girl

turned to face their Princess.

"Serenity! What are you doing here?" Minako hissed, while looking at Pluto worriedly.

Serenity blushed, "I was trying to find a good hiding place."

Rei rolled her eyes as Ami held her head in her hands. Makoto walked up to Serenity-putting a hand

on her shoulder, seriousness completely over-taking her persona.

"This is a very important question, one you must answer with the preciseness of Ami herself."

Serenity looked at her friend quizzically.

"Who are...?" Makoto took a small breath before turning to face the screen, a far off look taking

over her features. "Who are _they_?" her eyes seemed to sparkle as she gazed at a long, brown haired

young man.

"Hmm..." Rei hummed in agreement as she focused on a short blonde haired young man with

mischievous eyes.

Pluto smiled. "You will each find out in time, but for now, you must go to your mother Serenity."

The princess nodded, stealing one last glance at her Prince. "One day... I hope we can meet" she whispered

to herself as she exited the room, content to find her mother.

_End Flash Back  
_

Trudging up the long stairway, Princess Serenity hummed to herself. Today the company from Earth

had arrived, though she hadn't seen them yet.

'You have to meet them in a formal manner,' she had been told. Rolling her eyes, she muttered to

herself,

"Why does everything have to be so strict all the time?"

Seeing the library door open, she made her way in but stopped as she noticed that it was not empty as

it usually was. Ami was the only person who she would have thought to meet here...not him.

Her eyes brightened and a smile curved at her strawberry coloured lips as she took in the site of her

love. He was casually leaning next to a window, his eyes closed.

Endymion gazed out over the large expanse of the Moon kingdom through the large bay window of

the palace library. It really was beautiful, not as colorful as Earth - but this beauty was more of an

enchanting magical kind.

It reminded him of the beautiful woman with whom he had subsequently fallen in love with. Even

though, to him, it still didn't seem real. He sighed, running a hand through his tousled raven hair.

'_If only I had found her before Beryl...before everything._'

He had left his men in the adjoining meeting rooms, their usual banter hadn't really helped his

melancholy mood.

Sapphire eyes closed in thought the Prince didn't notice another enter the library. Only the sound of a

familiar silvery voice made his eyes shoot open and gape at the vision before him.

"I told you we would meet again... Endy."

* * *

Once again-I gush at the perks of being an author mwahahahaha!

Anyhoo-comments, criticism's, death threats? Feel free to

send them you and have a nice day.


	3. Chapter 03

**FOREVER CLOSER**

By Tsuki1 and Crys

**Chapter 3**

PG-13

**ANs****: **Well, another day, another Chapter...not that we're posting by the days...wish my

 brain worked that fast . anyhoo, hope you enjoy this chapter^.^ Thanks again to

 Crys for her wondrous Co-Authorness and thanks to Ely-chan who always manages to

 add that little bit extra when she beta's for us-so thank you Ely!!^.^ Also have to say

 thank you to Fin otherwise she'll get all upset heehee^.~  Lats but not least-thank you

 to all those reviewing and following this fic-your support means muchly to us! Enjoy!

~Tsuki1~

**Other ANs: **Uhm, Tsuki covered it all, other than the exact reason we're thanking Fin,

 but that's beside the point. So yeah...

~Crys~

**Disclaimer: **After the disappointment of finding out I don't own Mamo-chan (for

 which I'll forever be scarred *dramatic sigh*) I must now learn to live with the fact

 that neither Crys nor I own Sailor Moon in anyway shape or bishie.

~*~

Endymion stared at the vision before him. He felt like he was dreaming. It couldn't

 possibly be her...she was on the Earth... not on the Moon and yet, here she was.

 "Hello Endy," she smiled at him, her eyes shining radiantly.

Endy stepped forward hesitantly before widening his stride to sweep her up in his arms.

 She giggled as he swung her round before setting her down in front of him. Gazing at

 her, he brushed a strand of silky hair from her beautiful eyes. Eyes he had not been

 able to stop thinking of, dreaming of since he had first met her.

Something inside of him had changed that day. He began to open up to people and

 emotions he never knew existed and it was all because of her; because while he didn't

 know her name-he loved her. Leaning his forehead against hers, he closed his eyes,

 revelling in the feeling of being so close to her again.

 "I've missed you." he uttered softly, lowering his lips to touch hers lightly.

 "And I you." she managed to utter back.

 The moment was interrupted however, by the loud crash of the library door being

 thrown open.  "Princess Serenity!" Luna said, exasperated, "I've been looking for you

 everywhere! Honestly child--the guests from Earth have arrived and..." The lady with

 luminous eyes stopped short as she noticed with whom her princess was standing with.

 "Oh...Oh dear...I'm sorry for interrupting you Serenity.  I didn't realise you and your

 intended had met!" She smiled before turning to the door "I'll leave you two alone to

 get acquainted then." Closing the door softly behind her, she left the two young royals

 in an awkward silence.

  "P-Princess…?" Endymion questioned, his eyes showed a mixture of surprise

 and…was that hurt?

 Serenity opened her mouth to speak but nothing came out.

"You're the Princess? The Princess I'm to marry?"

"Yes." Serenity managed to breath, bowing her head. "I was going to tell you, I had no

 idea--not in my wildest dreams did I ever think this would be possible-that you and

 I..." she stopped, looking up, expecting to see comprehension but instead saw anger in

 her beloved's eyes.

 "How did you get down to Earth? Why did you come to me?" the Prince questioned

 harshly, stepping away from her.

  "Because I...I love you--I loved you from the moment I saw you," she  rushed on,

 feeling like nothing she could say or do could repair what damage she could have

 inflicted on him.

 "If you loved me--why couldn't you tell me who you were!?"

  "I couldn't! I wasn't even supposed to be there--if I told you, I may have never been

 able to see you again! Ever since the time I saw you in the Orbital room and learned of

 our bond I..."

  "Orbital Room?" Serenity stopped speaking at sight of the hard mask covering the

 Prince's face.  "What, pray tell Princess, is the Orbital Room?" he bit out and Serenity

 felt fear spread throughout her soul as she took in his emotionless stance.

  "It gives us the means to...to watch over Earth." Tears threatened the young princess's

 eyes as what she said registered with Endymion.

 "You spied on me!?" he accused angrily.

 "No! It has been the Moon's accepted mission to watch over Earth since the beginning

 of time! It wasn't to spy on you! I swear it Endy."

"How can you fall in love with me without even knowing me!? You're just as bad as all

 those other 'women' down on Earth. All you care about are...are looks and power! I

 refuse to be apart of your whimsical, immature fairy tales Princess."

"That's not the reason I fell in love with you Endy! I..."

"You will address me as *Prince* Endymion or have you so easily forgotten royal

 protocol Princess." His voice was cold and calculated and he refused to look at her.

  The Prince turned from her completely, and Serenity felt as if her heart had stopped

 beating. As he slammed the library door shut with such finality, she felt both her heart

 and soul shatter into a million pieces. The Princess let out a ragged cry as she crumpled

 to the floor in pained sobs.

~*~

 The 4 Generals sat in the small study at the West end of the Moon Palace, a few doors

 down from the Library.

 "You know, I heard the Princess has four guardians...and that they're women!" Jadeite

 spoke.

 "Don't be stupid Jadeite, as if women could be strong enough." Nephrite raised an

 eyebrow at the Kunzite's comment. "Not if they had the kind of powers that I hear they

 have."

 "Powers? These women have powers? Like us?" Zoisite's curiosity heightened.

 Nephrite nodded. "Each of them is from the other planets closest to the moon. There

 are four; Mars, Venus, Jupiter and Mercury."

 "They're probably ugly--can you imagine? The lady from Mars is probably covered in

 warts and has fire periodically spurting out of her ears," Jadeite laughed.

 "Really? Warts you say?" a feminine voice enquired, causing all the generals to turn.

 Jadeite's eyes widened as he took in the beauty before him. His eyes trailed up her

 long slender legs, over her slim waist and generous bust. His eyes lingered there for a

 tad too long as he heard the elegant raven-haired beauty clear her throat. His eyes shot

 up and connected with violet orbs, at the moment glistening with hostility.

 What she wore stunned all the generals. It showed of every curve of her body. The red

 skirt came to about mid thigh and the body suit clung to her like a second skin. Jadeite

 gulped.

  "Jupiter," she called as an auburn haired girl with the same outfit except in green

 entered the room. "Tell me, do I have warts and fire spurting out of my ears?" she

 asked sweetly.

 Jupiter smirked, eyes flickering to Jadeite then back to the silently fuming Mars.

 "Definitely no warts...Mars," she had to force herself not to fall into a fit of laughter as

 Jadeite visibly paled. "But as for the fire, it comes out of your hands, though only

 when you're particularly vexed.  You just never know for sure, with a talent like

 yours."

She heard a light chuckle and was captured by the sparkling green eyes of the brown

 haired general, Nephrite. They seemed to remain captivated for an eternity. That is,

 until a yellow-skirted senshi, Venus, decided to introduce her-self. The girls had been

 outside the room, waiting or 'eavesdropping' as Ami had put it.

  "Honestly Mercury - it would have been rude of us to walk in while they were

 conversing" she smiled as she managed to convince the shy Ami to come into the

 room.

 Kunzite couldn't help but stare at the blonde vision. Her sky blue eyes sparkled with

 mirth as she took in the shocked generals faces.

 "Sorry we're not as ugly or scary as you thought," she quipped. She noticed that the

 dark haired general at the back of the room was quite enraptured by her small blue

 haired friend. A small conspiring smile curved at her lips as a devious plan began to

 form, but not before she caught the gaze of a silver haired _'and rather handsome' she_

 thought to herself, general.

 Her heart began to thump a bit too erratically for her liking _'Hey, who's the senshi of_

_ Love here?! I should be making his heart thump erratically!'_ she berated herself.

 Never mind that he had the most amazing eyes she had ever seen, or the fact that he

 was looking at her like that with those same eyes...

 _'Stop that!' she forced herself to look away. They all heard a door slam and saw the_

 Prince of Earth stride past the door towards his room.

 "Serenity." Venus whispered hurriedly before rushing out of the room to the princess,

 the other senshi on her heels.

~*~

Sooooo...love? hate? Confused? Comments, Criticisms and Death threats are all

 welcomed; 

 Siggy_Johnston@optusnet.com.au

Crystalshards01@aol.com

Thanks again for reading and have a nice day^.^


	4. Chapter 04

****

FOREVER CLOSER

By Tsuki1 and Crys

Pg-13

Chapter 4

Authors Notes

Yes, after an eternity we're back. I don't know about being better than ever but we're back…which is something right? We both humbly beg for forgiveness as our long absence is heading toward a rediculous amount of time.

Last note from me is my email is no longer aohell. If you wish to flame, comment, suggest, threaten, or maim me I'm now available at crystalshards01@cox.net.

Advance warning: flames will most likely be laughed at unless there might be constructive criticism somewhere. If you actually want me to read your email do please have it mostly grammatically correct. I tend to delete email that reads "luvd ur fic" or ur 

fic suked, it ws the werst thing I ever red…" and yes people do email that sort of stuff.Other than that, enjoy the next chapter of FC and feel free to hit the little "review" button.

****

~Crys~

We liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive!! Bwhahaha! Yes, we're back (finally *sweat drop*) for another chapter of FC. I know I know - we've been baaaaaad. We deserve to be chained up and have fruit and veg hurled at us *hangs head in shame* oh the pain, the anguish!!...Maybe this'll make up for our...uhm...extended absence...eh heh. To my defense - I did go to the other side of the world for 2 months, which didn't help. On a brighter note - you'll be pleased to know you won't have long to wait for the next chapter as it's all been plotted and just needs to be written!! I truly hope you enjoy this chapter - though please excuse the lack of magnanimous happenings (they come next chapter ^_^). I hope it at least clears a few things up. Enough of my babble! READ!!

****

~Tsuki1~

****

P.S. from Crys: And try not to email one-liners that consist of "when are you going to update?" as both Tsuki and myself have work, and I usually have at least 4 hours of homework a night.

****

P.S from Tsuki: *ahem* I have to agree, while it's really fantabulous to know you're keen for an update, it just adds more stress. I'm starting a Japanese course next week (yay me!) and its gonna be 17hrs a week. Not including homework. Then I have work and all the singing I do and my social life...oye *keels over* So, really, don't need more stress...pretty please? I'll give you cookies! ^_^

~*~

Minako, still in Senshi form, slid quietly from the sleeping Princess's room to her comrades waiting outside.

"She's finally asleep, thanks to that elixir you slipped her Ami" she gave the blue haired Senshi a small smile.

"He will pay" spat the Senshi of Fire "I'll roast him alive, I'll...I'll hang him from his toenails and roast him alive."

"Why do you get all the fun?" the equally angry and homicidal Makoto asked fiercely. "If anything, we work together – catch him off-guard then WHAM! I'll knock him out with my lightening then we string him up by his feet in the public square. Of course we can get Ami to whip up something to get him to wake up so he knows what's going on then..."

"Mako! Stop that!" Minako admonished the green eyed Senshi. "We don't know what went on in that room. There maybe a perfectly reasonable excuse for the Prince's behavior..."

"Did you not see our Princess...our *friend*!?"Rei glared at her. "Did you not see how devastated she was?" Her voice rose a few octaves; "How can you not want to go and kill him now - make him feel half as much pain as she was feeling" her voice hitched "How Venus? How!?"

The anger and hurt at her friends loss made tears spill from Rei's eyes in rage. "I...I could feel her pain, her loss as soon as I entered the room – didn't...didn't you feel it too?" she sobbed as Minako gathered her in her arms to try and calm her. 

"Minako – it was so awful, how could he...how could he hurt her like that" she cried more, her tears soaking the Senshi of Love's uniform.

Minako *had* felt her Princess's pain but with her senses being acutely aware of matters of the heart, she had also felt the remnants of the Prince's... 

***

In a secluded part of the Moon Palace's gardens, Endymion sat in brooding silence, his generals watching him anxiously.

"Do you think if he keeps his face like that long enough, the wind will change and it'll stay like that forever?"

"Jadeite! Can you ever be serious!?" Kunzite frowned at the blonde general. "I'm just trying to lighten the mood here! So she's the Princess-I would have thought that to be a good thing? Less complicated and all that."

"She should have told me." Endymion stated, coldly staring at the rose in his hand. 

"What would you have done if you'd known Endymion? Shout to the world that you'd fallen in love with the Princess of the Moon….a girl you've met, how many times was it? Once, twice? It should hardly matter *who* she is, or that she has a title."

"That's hardly the point! She had enough time our last meeting to give me the pertinent details such as who and what she is. But she chose not to, she chose to lie to me."

A feminine voice interrupted the ranting prince.

"That is not entirely true Prince Endymion. You misquote your last meeting with the Princess."

As the last words were spoken a woman emerged from a copse of trees. All five men sat speechless as the light fully struck the woman. Pluto, dressed in her senshi uniform raised a green eyebrow above red eyes.

"In fact, I'm quite sure that Serenity said that she could * not * divulge who she was to you, at that time."

"Who are you? How do you know what was said that day? Or are you just another one of the princess' spies, sent by that selfish girl to see what we have to say?"

Endymion's voice was full of venom as he spat out the words.

Pluto's eyes flashed dangerously and narrowed at the prince. Not knowing exactly why they had the urge, all four generals half drew their swords. Though her eyes were still narrowed, and her staff held at the ready, Pluto's voice was almost amused.

"The swords, though very nice they are, are not necessary gentleman. If I wanted to hurt your Prince there is nothing you could do to stop me." As she spoke she focused on each individual general.

Then her eyes swung back to Endymion, and if looks could kill he would have been a nice gooey puddle of blood upon the ground.

"As for you, Princeling…do not *ever* seek to judge my Princess. Until you know the true extent of her feelings you have no reason to scorn her; and certainly no reason to decide whether or not she is a liar. In which case, if you decide to accept your misinformed conclusion of the girl's honesty you are forewarned. Not only are the senshi her guard, they're her personal friends, woman powerful enough in their own right to kill you. I would advise you to think upon your last encounter and remember what she told you."

With those words, Pluto was gone leaving a shaken Prince and somewhat confused generals.

***

Venus walked briskly down the never-ending hallway that led to the senshi's rooms.

The Princess had barely eaten in three days straight, and with the engagement ball approaching, the four Senshi were worried sick about Serenity's health; not to mention anxious about whether or not there was going to be need for an engagement ball.

"Lady Venus, if I could please speak with you for but a moment." Venus stopped, and turned to find one of Prince Endymion's guard approaching her.

"Oh great, just great - this is exactly what I need" she muttered sarcastically under her breath.

"I'm sorry, I didn't quite catch that?"

"Uhm, I said, it's...uh...great to see you...uhm..."

"Kunzite my lady." He finished for her, his mouth quirking upwards.

"Right, sorry" she gave a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. Kunzite noticed.

"Do you mind if we keep walking, I have quite a busy schedule."

"Of course, my lady. May I ask, how is the princess?" Venus paused mid step, her eyes refusing to meet his. Her body went immediately taught and Kunzite flinched slightly.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to make you feel uncomfortable. I was just..." Venus interrupted him sharply by focusing on him with cold eyes.

"She hasn't been eating apart from a little broth we manage to coax her to eat. She hasn't left her chambers, her mother is worried and doesn't have a clue what's going on and with the 'engagement' ball so near we're all on edge. Does that answer your question at all my Lord Kunzite?" she turned away from him, a shuddering sigh escaping as her head fell forward causing her blonde hair to cover her face like a waterfall.

"I'm sorry...you were merely being polite..." sighing again, she rubbed her temples trying to soothe the impending headache that often came with the stress of her job.

"I just don't understand why this all has to be so difficult...they both love each other" she said, as if speaking to herself.

"You sense when someone is in love?" The Senshi blinked in surprise and found herself looking into the pale silver-blue eyes of Kunzite.

"Sorry?"

"Your power...is to sense the feelings of one person to another? For instance, when someone loves someone else, you can feel it."

"Yes..." she said "But that's only scratching the surface" she quickly amended. "There's much more to being the senshi of Love than just 'sensing' it."

"I see...so, you can sense anyones 'feelings'? Could you sense if someone had feelings for you?" Venus stared a little dumbfounded at the handsome silver haired general. His chiselled features suddenly registered with her and then the question that he had asked - she gulped. She found herself beginning to blush but managed to calm herself before it became too obvious.

'One of the perks of being the Senshi of Love' she thought with relief.

However, Kunzite's eyes seemed to be looking at her with a strange intensity. She looked away from him before her blush could come back and cleared her throat. She couldn't be distracted from her Princess. The most important thing was to get her healthy and smiling again. Especially the smiling part of it; she missed Serenity's smile and the laughter that filled all their lives mere days ago but which now felt like eons ago.

"I should be getting back to the Princess. She and the others will be wondering..." As if by fate, Mars came walking towards them from the direction of the Senshi's rooms.

"Venus, we were wondering where you were." The Fire senshi eyed Kunzite coldly, not even attempting to hide the suspicion she held for him.

"Sorry Mars, I'm just on my way. Lord Kunzite." She nodded at him respectfully.

"Lady Venus." He nodded back.

"Princess." Venus amended absently.

"We are each the princess of our respective planets the other senshi and I" she explained when his brow furrowed in confusion.

"I am Princess Minako of Venus. Sworn to protect the Princess of the Moon, this is Princess Rei of Mars, she has also sworn the oath to protect Serenity. Not only is she our ward, but she is also like a sister to each of us. When she is hurt, we hurt too. We will do anything to stop her from hurting and to make her smile again. Do you understand?" Minako looked into the depths of Kunzite' eyes as he nodded in understanding.

"I truly hope it works out...Princess" Kunzite bowed to the Senshi as the two turned to walk back to the Senshi's rooms.

"I sensed a strange aura from him." Rei said as soon as they were out of earshot.

"Mmm." Was the only reply she got from her friend.

"Do you like him Mina-chan?" She looked at Minako speculatively.

"It doesn't matter if I do or don't Rei-chan. We need to take care of Serenity. Nothing else matters other than her. That is our duty not only as her guard but as her friends" she said softly, smiling gently at her raven haired friend's worried frown.

"All will be well as soon as we get Serenity smiling again." Rei nodded in agreement.

"I still say we should burn him alive...but I suppose that would make her cry even more" she said with a small smile.

"It'll sort Rei, It'll sort" Minako assured as they both turned into the rooms where the other Senshi were waiting.

What greeted the two women as they entered the final room, had them both gaping in stunned surprise. Their beloved princess was standing in the middle of her room, and though she still looked pale and fragile, fury was blossoming off her in waves. Rei, Amy and Makoto were standing still, not quite sure what to do with their friend. 

Minako however, couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and make a "hmm'ing" sound.

Finally Serenity's temper had burst.

"I'm not going to the ball with, or for that arrogant Earth slime! I was nearly on my knees *****begging* him to listen. But did he? No! He just stood there and told me not to be too familiar with his name."

At the end of this rant, Serenity turned to look Rei in the eyes.

"For all I care you can rip his…"

Minako quickly intervened, not wanting the Princess to say something she might regret. 

Especially since it was bodily harm to the prince that Makoto or Rei might carry out.

That and she was utterly appalled by her friend's thoughts, and what she actually wanted to say.

"Serenity!! Stop this nonsense at once"

"Stop? You want me to STOP!? He...he stood there and threw everything..." Serenity choked as tears began pouring down her cheeks.

"He threw everything we shared back at me, like it was...like it was *nothing*" she sobbed harder and would have fallen to her knees if Makoto hadn't have caught her.

Gently Makoto lowered both her and Serenity to the floor, hugging the smaller girl as she began to rock. Able to feel her pain more acutely than she would have liked to, Rei kneeled in front of the princess and joined the hug.

"Do you still love him Princess?" Rei asked softly, surprising the other three Senshi in the room.

Tear filled, cerulean blue eyes opened to look at the senshi of Mars. With a final, slow nod of her blonde haired head Serenity confirmed the question. Rei sighed at this truth, then cupped her friend's face.

"Then don't let this tear you apart. You fight back, and you show him that this isn't a farce. Whatever you do, I support you, and I'll do anything I can to help. Just…don't let any threats slip out of your mouth, as I'm still mad enough to go through with any of them."

Ami supplied her friend a handkerchief, and seconded Rei's words;

"We're all here for you Serenity. You're a sister foremost, even more than our friend, or just our princess. We'll always be there to help you."

She smiled gently and scooted over to make room for Minako to join the group on the floor. Minako grinned at all the girls before addressing Serenity.

"It seems to me that they've all summed our feelings up rather nicely. And just so you know, Princess, though Prince Endymion was very angry at the time of his words, he hurt himself with them just as much as you. I can't tell you much more, but…." She gave them a reassuring smile "All is not lost."

~*~

End ANs: (Random reader: you mean there's MORE!? *reader faints*) Look how nice we were!? Do you see the lack of cliff hanger here? I think we deserve cookies! *grins* As always, thanks for reading and I hope you come back for more when we get the next chapter out (which all going well wont take months eh heh *smiles sheepishly*) Any comments, questions, criticisms, death threats etc etc, please feel free to email Crys (her new emails at the top) or me : Siggy_Johnston@optusnet.com.au or even press the button...would it help if I used reverse psychology? *paints review button red and writes DON'T PUSH* Go ooooooooon....ya know you wanna ^_____^ *squidges*


End file.
